Posted on Monday, 27 February 2017

A number of developments have taken place in the world of business travel in recent weeks. Here we look at some of the most significant.

Business travel buyers urged to embrace new tech

Business travel buyers are being urged to consider how new technologies will affect travel programmes. During a session at the Business Travel Show's Hosted Buyer Conference in London on February 21, a number of new developments were discussed. Prominent among these was the self-driving car.

Ride sharing firms such as Uber and Lyft would be first to take advantage of this technology, it was suggested.

Johnny Thorsen, senior director of SAP Mobile Services, said: “Uber and Lyft drivers will be among the first to lose their jobs as they are the most expensive component – why pay somebody to do it when you don't have to?” he said.

“The technology is very advanced and expensive but the price is coming down fast – there will be big fleets of self-driving cars within a few years. We are behind the curve in Europe – we are always thinking of why not to do something.

“It will be cheaper to have self-driving cars – will you choose whether to do this? These questions are coming up faster.”

China to replace USA as largest business travel market

China will become the world's largest travel market, overtaking the United States – according to a new report by Ctrip Corporate Travel.

The business travel market was valued at $290bn in 2016, a figure which will grow by 10 per cent in 2017, the report states. EasyJet trials system to discourage direct bookings by employees

EasyJet is working on a service that aims to discourage employees from making direct bookings – and instead urge them to use a client's managed channel.

Andrea Caulfield-Smith, head of corporate sales in northern Europe, told Buying Business Travel: “If they are coming to the EasyJet website, we want to help feed them to the tracking portal, which helps with duty of care.”

"If an employee of an EasyJet corporate client books through the airline's website, the airline will send an email to the passenger encouraging them to use the client's managed channel instead of booking direct. The email will also include an embedded link to the managed booking portal."

Trump policies could impact corporate travel more than Brexit: KPMG

Travel bans introduced by President Trump in the coming years could impact corporate travel even more than Brexit, according to Rohitesh Dhawan, director of KPMG's Brexit Global Centre of Excellence.

Dhawan was speaking at the Business Travel Show in London.

Brexit risks: sterling "volatility" and "added complexity" to travel

Dhawan also said that one of the key risks around Brexit was the volatility of the pound – and how to plan for it.

He also said that moving around Europe could become more complex.

“Judging by the mood music in Brussels there will be less free movement than there is now. Hopefully sense will prevail but there will be at least another area of checks.” Some aspects of business travel remain constant

In the fast-paced world of business travel, few things remain unchanged. The requirement for high quality comprehensive business travel insurance, however, is one of them.

Here at starttravel.co.uk we cover thousands of UK business people every year, protecting them against a wide range of unwanted events – including injury, illness and legal costs and expenses, with cover options for personal effects and possessions, cancellations and golf cover.

Learn more about business travel cover from starttravel.co.uk

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